2019 NFL Draft: Browns select LB Sione Takitaki of BYU at pick No. 80
April 26, 20192019 NFL Draft: Browns select S Sheldrick Redwine at pick No. 119
April 27, 2019
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- Coming into “Day two” of the 2019 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns two biggest needs were arguably linebacker and defensive back … and they addressed both.
- General manager John Dorsey began Day 2 working the phones with his former colleague from his days with the Kansas City Chiefs, trading up from No. 49 to No. 46 overall with now Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard. During Dorsey’s tenure in Kansas City, Ballard was the Director of Player Personnel and Director of Football Operations under Dorsey.
- Taking a quick break from the Browns, the Colts drafted Temple cornerback Rock Ya-Sin, TCU linebacker Ben Banogu, Ohio State wide receiver Parris Campbell, and Stanford linebacker Bobby Okereke through the first two days. Ballard’s incumbency with the Colts has served him well thus far, as he drafted All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson and Defensive All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard last season. Not only has Dorsey built the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns to become consistent contenders in the AFC to compete for a Super Bowl, his top executive in Kansas City, Ballard, has done the exact same in Indianapolis.
- Alright, enough about one of the few teams the Browns will likely have to get through to reach the Super Bowl, let’s talk about Cleveland’s football team.
- The Orange and Brown parted ways with the No. 144 overall pick — the fifth-rounder they received in return from Jacksonville in the trade for running back Carlos Hyde — to move up three selections.
- Dorsey could not decline the temptation of developing one of the best young cornerback duos in the NFL. He elected to draft LSU cornerback Greedy Williams, placing an end to a surprising slide in this year’s draft for the Tigers star corner.
- Williams was regarded not only as one of the best cornerbacks in this year’s draft but also one of the players overall due to his size, speed, and athleticism. Just to put into perspective on where Williams was ranked by a few people that know a little bit more than me, here is where he ranked after the evaluation of some people I trust:
- The Athletic’s Dane Brugler: No. 24 overall, No. 2 ranked cornerback
- The Draft Network’s Kyle Crabbs: No. 32 overall, No. 4 ranked cornerback
- Pro Football Focus’ Steve Palazzolo and Mike Renner: No. 9 overall, highest rated cornerback
- The Ringer’s Danny Kelly: No. 11 overall, No. 2 ranked cornerback
- ESPN’s Jeff Legwold: No. 26 overall, No. 4 ranked cornerback
- So why did Greedy Williams fall all the way to No. 46? Tackling. Are the Browns concerned about his tackling? Nope.
- Dorsey’s response to Williams being a “below-average” tackler: “He is playing in the hardest conferences there are in college football, and I think he holds up really well. I have no problem with his tackling. He will get you down. Corners are paid to cover. The tackling aspect, just get the guy down.”1
- Williams was not brought to Cleveland to be a tackling machine, he was drafted to cover the best wide receivers in the NFL, and that is exactly what he will do. A quick glimpse of a few key stats from his collegiate career at LSU (courtesy of Pro Football Focus:)
- 2018 Cover Snaps/Reception: 15.93 (21st in FBS)
- 2018 Yards/Reception: 14.9 yards
- 2018 Touchdowns Allowed: 2
- 2018 Passer Rating Against: 58.1
- The numbers he posted in 2018 is also a supporting factor as to why Williams slipped into the second round but his statistics registered in 2017 are much of the reason why the Browns feel he can be one of the best cover corners in the NFL.
- 2017 Yards/Reception: 12.5 yards
- 2017 Touchdowns Allowed: 1
- 2017 Passer Rating Against: 19.4
- Williams has a ton of upside and has the tools (6’1″ height, 4.37 40-yard dash time) to be a No. 1 cornerback but he will need to place his best foot forward in Cleveland. The Browns believe he will do just that.
- Assistant General Manager Eliot Wolf had this to say about Williams, “He locked people down in coverage in the SEC. He can man cover. You can put him on an island over there. He has tremendous fluidity, tremendous ball skills. Felt like he played big at the catch point, which is something that we like at 6-2.”
- Head Coach Freddie Kitchens was little bit more clear-cut about the Browns first draft pick of 2019. “You are going to watch these SEC receivers now start going off the board and he has covered every damn one of them,” Kitchens said. “That is the type of athlete he has to cover when he gets into the National Football League.
- Williams is just 21 years old and will play across Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward (also 21 years old) for what all Browns fans hope is a long time. Williams thoughts on that idea, “Oh, my God. Me and Denzel, we are going to tear up the league.”
- The less sexy of the Browns two Day 2 picks was their selection at No. 80: BYU linebacker Sione Takitaki. Although he is a bit of an “under the radar” name, the Browns do not feel the same way.
- “This is a physical, physical football player. He plays with violence,” said Wolf.
- Takitaki does arrive with some baggage. According to NFL Network, he was “briefly kicked off the team after being involved in a dorm fight before his freshman year.” He also, “was suspended again to start his sophomore campaign after he allegedly stole property while working as a campus custodian.”
- As a result of his mishaps, Takitaki took a year off from college, spending the 2016 season not playing football. “I feel like stepping away from that really made me look at a lot of things in life and what I really wanted to do. Do I want to play ball or not?,” Takitaki told reporters. “I feel like just that time being away, getting a job – I worked construction for that whole two semesters that I was away from the game – it kind of really made me get my things in order.”
- Takitalki returned to the BYU football program in 2017 and redeemed himself both as a football player and as a teammate. He was named team captain for his senior season and collected 118 tackles.
- “I feel like I showed all of the NFL teams that were talking to me that I have moved past that in these last few years – me being a team captain,” said Takitaki. “I kind of moved past all of those knucklehead days.”
- The Browns absolutely feel that he has moved past his knucklehead days.
- “The thing that is exciting about Sione is he really changed his life around,” said Wolf. “The cool thing about this guy is he is a success story at BYU. You talk to anyone there, they kind of didn’t think he was going to make it after his first year. He completely turned his life around. He became a team captain this year. He was just that guy in the program. You go out to practice, and everyone is looking to him. He is a ball of energy, and he is a real leader and culture changer.”
- Takitaki not only played linebacker in college, he played defensive line as well during his junior season. In 2017, he compiled 79 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, and five sacks playing defensive end. As a result, he has drawn comparisons to Genard Avery.
- “There are some [similarities.] They are both physical,” said Wolf. “They are both just completely relentless and run to the football. We are looking for guys who hunt the football, and both of those guys can do that.”
- Overall the Browns Day 2 of the NFL Draft was pretty solid and considering they essentially drafted a Pro Bowl wide receiver in Odell Beckham Jr with the No. 17 pick, this draft is a success.
- The Browns have five picks remaining heading into the final day (rounds four-seven.) Here are the exact selections:
- No. 119 (4th)
- No. 155 (5th)
- 170 (5th)
- No. 189 (6th)
- No. 221 (7th)
- A few positions Browns need to address:
- Defensive line depth
- Linebacker depth
- Offensive line depth
- Competition in the back end at receiver
- An insurance policy if Duke Johnson is traded.
- A few players I like to fill those needs:
- DE Maxx Crosby, Eastern Michigan
- LB Drue Tranquill, Notre Dame
- OL Beau Benzschawel, Wisconsin
- WR Kelvin Harmon, NC State
- RB Devine Ozigbo, Nebraska
- Expect one more of these columns following today’s picks!
